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Company’s coming. Guests are on the way.

Aaargh!!!

We’ve got to speed clean the house. Fast.

But do NOT panic.

This speed cleaning checklist PLUS some clever speed cleaning tips and hacks from the professionals will have your home guest ready.

In less than an hour.

EVEN if you’re drowning in clutter.

And your cleaning routine hasn’t happened.

Anytime recently.

So. Are you ready to go? Cool.

I’ve got general speed cleaning tips for you first.

Then the speed cleaning checklist, I use.

PLUS some extra clever speed cleaning hacks.

IF the tips seem waffly – I can waffle for Britain – whiz straight to the checklist and hacks.

Just remember to save the checklist.

For future handy reference.

1. Speed Cleaning Tips

Speed Cleaning Tip One

OK.

My first speed cleaning tip is simple.

BUT important AND easily forgotten.

And it’s this.

Our guests are friends and family.

And they love us for who we are.

NOT for our sparkly kitchen floor.

So yes it sounds corny and obvious.

But we need to forgive ourselves – and our family – all the mess and clutter and grime.

For the moment, at least.

BECAUSE beating ourselves up and yelling at everyone else will STOP us from focusing.

And focus IS key to speed cleaning success.

As we’ll see in tip two.

Speed Cleaning Tip Two

With company on their way, my instinct is to run around like a headless chicken.

And try and speed clean the whole house.

Yours too right? But it doesn’t work does it?

Instead we need to focus ruthlessly on:

What we can achieve
What we need to achieve
AND doing one job at a time

We can NOT speed clean our whole home.

And make good our failed cleaning routine.

And clutter – border line hoarding – issues.

In one hour.

So just focus on the rooms guests go in:

Entrance hall
Living room
Downstairs bathrooms
Kitchen

(I’ll be sharing separately an extra speed cleaning checklist for when guests stay over).

In these rooms laser focus on surface clutter and basic hygiene, i.e.:

Obstacle courses on the floor
Clutter where people need to sit
Preventing disease!!

Now again, this focus might seem obvious.

BUT it will NOT be, I assure you.

To certain members of your family.

Who WILL unless told otherwise believe it most helpful to play with the obstacle course in the hallway OR alphabetically sort the DVDs!!!

Aaaarrgggh!!!

Which leads us onto tip three …

Speed Cleaning Tip Three

IF your family help, you CAN complete the speed cleaning checklist in 30 minutes.

Hurrah!!!

BUT we need to help them help.

Which means focus them on one task.

One tiny specific task.

At a time.

And when they’ve done it.

Praise them to the high heavens.

And give them a big hug.

BEFORE handing over the next tiny task.

Which, I confess, I find hard.

Because the truth is, I typically wants to yell “I hate ALL your crazy clutter and am going to chuck the whole lot out in the street …“.

This – I’ve learned the hard way – isn’t helpful.

BUT helping the family focus is.

OK. So we’ve got our three speed cleaning tips.

Basically: forgive; focus; focus the family.

NOW onto the check-list.

2. Speed Cleaning Checklist

If we stay focused, each job in the speed cleaning checklist needs only five minutes.

So set your phone timer for each.

And laser focus on that one task.

Before starting the next …

Open doors & windows OR brew coffee.
Spritz downstairs toilets
Empty & fill dishwasher
Chuck old food out from fridge
Blitz clutter on kitchen surfaces
Wipe kitchen surfaces
Blitz clutter on hall floor
Blitz clutter on living room floor & seating
Empty bins
Vacuum hall, living room & kitchen
Wipe kitchen sink
Straighten sofa, plump cushions

Ta da!!!

AND you’re done. A speed cleaned home.

Good enough for guests who love you.

BUT a few things on the list can trip us up.

And the two biggies for me were ALWAYS the clutter AND the mess I made by dragging out fifty different cleaning products.

Until I discovered these two speed cleaning hacks from professional party cleaners.

3. Speed Cleaning Hacks

Speed Cleaning Products

Speed cleaning experts e.g. Jeff Campbell used to claim speed cleaning needed chemicals.

Huge quantities of them.

But most cleaning professionals now swear by micro-fibre cloths for speed cleaning.

And I HAVE to say, I am a total convert.

You can whizz round much faster with a few micro-fibre cloths than with a bucket of sprays and creams and what not.

AND for quick cleaning they totally work.

Blitzing Surface Clutter Fast

My other fave speed cleaning hack is this one for blitzing surface clutter.

Now loads of us have got a clutter problem.

Haven’t we?

And I swear by the slow and steady just 10 things method for deep decluttering.

BUT that’s NOT what we’re doing here.

We’re just clearing clutter fast so guests can get in the door without breaking their leg. And can find somewhere to sit comfortably.

And this is the best speed cleaning hack I’ve found for doing it.

It really does STOP my headless chicken act …

Get a bucket, a trash bag & a big basket
Start in one corner of the room
Without moving your feet
Grab any clutter in reach
Shove crockery, cups, food etc in bucket
Shove trash in the bag
Shove anything else on floor or seating in basket – do NOT worry where it belongs
Ignore stuff on shelves unless dishes or food
Only move your feet when you’ve cleared everything in reach – then repeat
When you make it across the room: put trash bag in bin; hide clutter basket out of sight; empty bucket in kitchen putting crockery in dishwasher you emptied earlier

And hey presto, you’re done.

By keeping our feet stuck to the floor and focusing on clearing all the clutter in reach before moving forward we can actually speed clean a room much quicker.

So they’re you go.

My tried and tested speed cleaning tips, checklist, hacks and products for when you’ve got company coming.

I do hope they help.

And remember, any guests worth having WILL still love you, however sticky your kitchen floor 😉

But if you are after more easy cleaning hacks, tips and schedules do follow me on Pinterest and check out these posts to help you conquer your clutter: